The 1958 12-Hour Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance for the Amoco Trophy took place on 22 March, on the Sebring International Raceway, (Florida, United States). It was the second round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship, which was running to new regulations introduced at the beginning of the season. The most influential of these regulations changes would be the 3.0 litre engine size limit. This was seventh running of the 12-hour race.

Report

Entry

A massive total of 73 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 70 arrived for practice. Only these, 65 qualified for, and started the race. With these new rules, and Maserati on the brink of financial crisis, Scuderia Ferrari would head the Italian challenge. Ferrari had six of their 250 TRs in Florida, of which three were works machines for Phil Hill/Peter Collins, Mike Hawthorn/Wolfgang von Trips and Luigi Musso/Olivier Gendebien. Opposition would no longer come from Maserati... but from Aston Martin.

David Brown sent two Aston Martin DBR1s over from England for Stirling Moss/Tony Brooks and Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori. There were supported by George Constantine and John Dalton, in a DB2/4. Also on the entry list were some quick looking Jaguar D-Types though the Coventry marque were a bit out-classed by now. Ecurie Ecosse had two D-Types for Ron Flockhart/Masten Gregory and Ninian Sanderson/Ivor Bueb. Another Jag was entered by Briggs Cunningham for himself and Walt Hansgen. Cunningham also brought along two Jaguar engined Listers for Ed Crawford/Pat O'Connor and Archie Scott Brown/Hansgen. All three cars were listed with Alfred Momo being the entrant.

Qualifying

Because there were no qualifying sessions to set the grid, the starting positions were decided according to engine size with the 4.6 litre Chevrolet Corvette C1 of Jim Rathmann and Dick Doane in first place. Next was another Corvette of John A. Kilborn, Fred Windridge and Dick Thompson. In fact Corvette’s held the first three places.

Race

Day of the race would be sunny and warm, but the start of race was something of a shambles as some drivers posed for the tradition Le Mans style start, ready to sprint to their cars, while others were still ambling across the track. This prompted a false start, so everyone had to line-up again.

From his third place of the grid, Jim Jeffords was expected to be quick off the line, and indeed he was but a wheel problem stopped him out on the circuit, and by the end of lap one, he crossed the line in last place.

The Aston Martins set the early pace with Moss going out in front. Hawthorn was second in his works Ferrari, with Salvadori in the other Aston on his tail. Soon, Salvadori moved past Hawthorn to make it an Aston 1-2. As for the Listers, they were going well in the opening laps, but Gendebien tried to force his Ferrari past Scott Brown, on the managed to climb right over the back of the Lister. Both drivers hopped out and removed the Ferrari and the Belgian took it back to the pits for repairs while the Lister retired. As for the other Lister, it only managed six laps before its Jaguar engine went and all the Jaguar-powered cars were out of the race by lap 55.

As for the Hill/Collins Ferrari, it made a cautious start with the American behind the wheel. The crew decided to be easy on the gearbox and brakes which get worked so hard at Sebring. They were in fourth at the end of the first hour, with Moss/Brooks leading from Salvadori/Shelby and Hawthorn/von Trips. Their easy pace allowed the private 250 TR of Richie Ginther and Johnny von Neumann into fourth an hour later. The pair of Astons and the trio of Ferrari held the top five spots for the first four hours. The other works Ferrari of Musso/Gendebien started to recover from its early encounter.

It was all change in the fifth hour of the race when both Astons had gearbox troubles, which forces them to retire. Hill and Collins had progressively worked their way through to second and then took over the lead which they would not be moved. By the half-way mark, there were four Ferraris in the top four and that remained that way for the next five hours. Hawthorn and von Trips were out on lap 159, with Neumann and Ginther at lap 168. Hill and Collins still kept to a steady pace, the Musso/Gendebien car moved into second with the Porsche 718 RSK of Harry Schell and Wolfgang Seidel now up to third. Surprisingly, the little Lotus Eleven of Sam Weiss and David Tallakson had got into fourth overall.

And that's how the race finished, the Scuderia Ferrari of Collins and Hill, winning ahead of their team-mates Musso and Gendebien. Car number 14, took an impressive victory, completing 200 laps, covering 1,040 miles after 12 hours of racing, averaging a speed of 86.501 mph. Second place went to the second Ferrari, albeit one lap adrift. The podium was complete by works Porsche of Schell and Seidel who were seven laps behind the winners. Phil Hill and Peter Collins had established the Ferrari 250 TR as the main sports car championship contender, with its second straight victory in the series.

Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos No ClassDrivers Entrant Chassis Laps Reason Out 1st 14 S3.0 Phil Hill Peter Collins Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 58 12hr 01:22.6, 200 2nd 16 S3.0 Luigi Musso Olivier Gendebien Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 58 199 3rd 41 S2.0 Harry Schell Wolfgang Seidel Porsche K.G. Porsche 718 RSK 193 4th 56 S1.1 Sam Weiss Dave Tallaksen Team Lotus Lotus-Climax Eleven 179 5th 22 GT3.5 Paul O'Shea David Cunningham Bruce Kessler North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta 179 6th 55 S1.1 Colin Chapman Cliff Allison Team Lotus Lotius-Climax Eleven 179 7th 21 GT3.5 George Arents Don O'Dell George Reed North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 TR 58 175 8th 60 S750 Alejandro de Tomaso Robert Ferguson Isabelle Haskell Automobili Osca Osca S750 175 9th 54 S1.1 Jay Chamberlain William Frost Team Lotus Lotus-Climax Eleven 175 10th 43 GT1.6 Huschke von Hanstein John Cuevas Herbert Linge Porsche K.G. Porsche 356A Carrera 174 11th 30 S2.0 Porfirio Rubirosa William Helburn Jean-François Malle Porfirio Rubirosa Ferrari 500 TRC 172 12th 1 GT5.0 Jim Rathmann Dick Doane Richard Doane Chevrolet Corvette C1 170 13th 47 S1.5 Hal Stetson Harry Beck Otto Linton Osca Automobili Osca MT4 1500 170 14th 27 S2.0 Gilbert Geitner Harold Kunz Phil Stiles Hmbro Automotive Corporation Auston-Healey 100-6 MM 169 DNF 17 S3.0 Johnny von Neumann Richie Ginther Johnny von Neumann Ferrari 250 TR 168 Gearbox 15th 72 S2.0 Luke Stear Bob Harris Mike Norris A. C. Car Ltd AC Ace 168 16th 39 S2.0 Fred Fuller Tony Briggs Art Tweedale A. C. Car Ltd AC Ace 166 17th 28 GT3.5 William Kinchloe Fred Moore Hambro Automotive Corporation Austin-Healey 100-6 MM 166 18th 50 GT1.3 Fred van Beuren Javier Velásquez Fred van Beuren Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce 164 19th37 GT2.0 Richard Milo Duncan Forlong George McClure A. C. Car Ltd AC Ace 163 20th34 GT2.0 Mike Rothschild Bill Lott William Kimberly Standard Motor Co. Triumph TR3 160 21st 53 S1.1 Carl Haas Chuck Dietrich Alan Ross Behm Motors Stanguellini S1100 Bialbero 160 DNF 15 S3.0 Mike Hawthorn Wolfgang von Trips Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 58 159 Gearbox 22nd 38 S2.0 Bill Love George Crowder Roy Jackson-Moore A. C. Car Ltd AC Ace 159 23rd29 GT3.5 Gus Ehrman Ray Cuomo Hambro Automotive Corporation Austin-Healey 100-6 MM 159 24th 52 GT1.3 Charlie Rainville Jake Kaplan Jake Kaplan Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce 157 25th 46 S1.5 Charles Wallace Skip Hudson Bob Holbert Marshall Motors Porsche 550 RS 153 26th 35 GT2.0 Jim Roberts Louis Heuss Hambro Automotive Austin-Healey 100 Special 151 27th 71 S2.0 Manolo Perez de la Mesa Alfonso Gomez-Mena Santiago González Scuderia Cuba Ferrari 500 TRC 151 28th 78 S1.1 William Milliken, Jr. Cameron Argetsinger Millard Ripley Ripley Motor Co. Elva-Climax Mk. II 151 29th 61 S750 Howard Brown Richard Toland Richard Toland D.B. HBR Panhard 151 30th 63 S750 Jack Brumby Ray Martinez Frank Aldhous Emmanuel de Graffenried Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato 150 31st 66 GT750 Chuck Kessigner Alfonso Thiele Willie West Emmanuel de Graffenried Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato 148 32nd 80 GT750 Harry Fry Lou Rappaport Dr. Harry Fry Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato 145 33rd 2 GT5.0 John Kilbourn Dick Thompson Fred Windridge Richard Thompson Chevrolet Corvette 144 34th 62 S750 Howard Hanna Howard Brown Howard Hanna D.B. HBR Panhard 143 35th 40 GT2.0 Max Goldman Sydney H. Arnolt Ralph Durbin S. H. Arnolt Arnolt Bolide 141 NC36th 33 GT2.0 Bob Oker Harold Hurtley Standard Motor Co. Triumph TR3 131 NC37th 51 GT1.3 Louis Comito Bob Pfaff Alan Markelson Louis Comito Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce 126 DNF 31 S2.0 Gaston Andrey Bill Lloyd Mike Garber Ferrari 500 TRC 125 Rear axle bearing DNF 65 S750 Densie McCluggage Ruth Levy Alfred Momo Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato 116 Gearbox DNF 57 S1.1 Frank Baptista Bill Warren Burdette Martin Elva Engineering Co. Elva-Climax Mk. III 114 unknown NC 49 S1.5 Charles Moran Paul Ceresole Charles Moran, Jr. Lotus-Climax Eleven Le Mans 110 NC 74 S1.5 Norman Scott Frank Bott Norman J. Scott Porsche 550 RS 109 DNF 44 S1.5 Art Bunker Carel Godin de Beaufort Art’s Sports Motors Porsche 550 RS 106 Clutch DNF 42 S2.0 Jean Behra Edgar Barth Porsche K.G. Porsche 718 RSK 105 Transmission, oil leak DNF 7 S3.0 Dale Duncan Jo Bonnier A. V. Dayton Maserati 300S 90 Gearbox DNF 24 S3.0 Stirling Moss Tony Brooks David Brown Aston Martin DBR1/300 90 Gearbox DNF 19 S3.0 John Fitch Ed Hugus Harry Kullen Ferrari 250 TR 85Engine NC 36 GT2.0 Dick Kennedy Charles Sherman Tom Payne Richard Kennedy Morgan Plus 4 76 NC 58 S1.1 William Bradley John Bentley Elva Engineering Co. Elva-Climax Mk. III 71 DNF 79 S2.0 Jan de Vroom Alfonso Gomez-Mena Alfonso Gomez-Mena Ferrari 500 TRC 69 Engine DNF 77 S1.1 Charles Kurtz Dean Patterson Joachim Kammer Avant Corp. Elva-Climax Mk. III 65 Clutch DNF 25 S3.0 Carroll Shelby Roy Salvadori David Brown Aston Martin DBR1/300 62 Transmission DNF 45 S1.5 Ken Miles Jean Pierre Kunstle Jean Pierre Kunstle Porsche 550 RS 59 Clutch DNF 23 S3.0 E. D. Martin Chester Flynn Chester J. Flynn Ferrari 250 TR 58 Accident DNF 9 S3.0 Ron Flockhart Masten Gregory Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type 55 Engine DNF 81 S2.0 Bob Said Miguel Rivera Scuderia Central America Ferrari 500 TRC 43 Brakes DNF 3 S3.0 Jim Jeffords Augie Pabst James Jeffords Chevrolet Corvette SR-2 27 Rear axle DNF 8 S3.0 Ninian Sanderson Ivor Bueb Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type 22 Valve springs DNF 12 S3.0 Briggs Cunningham Walt Hansgen Alfred Momo Jaguar D-Type 16 Blown piston DNF 26 GT3.5 George Constantine John Dalton David Brown DB2/4 15 Left rear hub DNF 32 S2.0 Jim Kimberly Pete Lovely Jim Kimberly Maserati 200S I 14 Engine DNF 11 S3.0 Ed Crawford Pat O'Connor Alfred Momo Lister-Jaguar 6 Cracked block DNF 10 S3.0 Archie Scott Brown Walt Hansgen Alfred Momo Lister-Jaguar 3 Accident DNS 48 S1.5 M. R. J. Wyllie Margaret Wyllie Chuck Dietrich Dr. M. R. J. Wyllie Elva-Climax Mk. II Accident in practice

Fastest Lap: Stirling Moss, 3:20.0secs (93.600 mph)

Class Winners

Class Winners Sports 3000 – Class D 14 Ferrari 250 TR 58 Hill / Collins Sports 2000 – Class E 41 Porsche 718 RSK Schell / Seidel Sports 1500 – Class F 47 Osca MT4 1500 Stetson / Linton / Beck Sports 1100 – Class G 56 Lotus-Climax Eleven Weiss / Tallaksen Sports 750 60 Osca S750 de Tomasso / Haskell / Ferguson Grand Touring 5000 1 Chevrolet Corvette Rathmann / Doane Grand Touring 3500 – Class 9 22 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta O'Shea / Kessler / Cunningham Grand Touring 3000 no classified finishers Grand Touring 2000 37 AC Ace Milo / McClure / Forlong Grand Touring 1600 43 Porsche 356A Carrera von Hanstein / Linge / Cuevas Grand Touring 1300 50 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce Van Beuren / Velásquez Grand Touring 750 64 Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato Kessinger / West / Thiele

Standings after the race Pos Championship Points 1 Ferrari 16 2 Porsche 8 3 Lotus 3